Win Taskbar

Win Taskbar

The Windows Taskbar is the row of buttons often found across the bottom of the screen, although it can be relocated to the top or either side, and it can even be hidden until the user moves the mouse pointer to the edge of the screen. See Win Move Taskbar, Win Hide Taskbar and Win Task Manager.

The Taskbar contains the Start menu button and a button for each currently open application. The application buttons display an icon that was created by the vendor of the program. Clicking the icon takes the application off screen ("minimized") and clicking it again restores it on screen. When the application is closed, the icon leaves the bar.

Pinning Your Favorites on the Taskbar
Users can pin programs and folders permanently on the Taskbar for quick access, even quicker than pinning them on the Start menu (see Win Start menu).

Win7, Vista, XP Behavior
When a program is pinned to the Taskbar in Win7, the icon is not repeated when the program is launched from that icon.

In Vista and XP, when a program is launched from a Taskbar icon, the icon is duplicated on the Taskbar just as if it were launched from the Start menu. Vista and XP call the part of the Taskbar that holds user icons the Quick Launch area.

Windows 7 - Pin Program
1. Right click program icon.
2. Click Pin to Taskbar.
To remove it:
1. Right click link.
2. Select Unpin from Taskbar.

Windows 7 - Pin Folder
1. Drag and drop folder on Taskbar.
To remove it:
1. Right click Taskbar Explorer icon.
2. Right click Properties of folder in list.
3. Select Unpin from this list.

Windows Vista and XP - Pin Program or Folder
1. Drag and drop icon onto Taskbar.
To remove it:
1. Right click link in Taskbar.
2. Select Delete.

Windows 7 Taskbar

The Start menu button is part of the Taskbar. Already pinned to the Taskbar fresh out of the box, the white arrow points to Explorer. The red arrows show two programs pinned by the user, and the gray arrows on the right point to two more programs launched from the Start menu. If the icon leaves the Taskbar when the application is closed, it was not pinned.